I just microwaved some left-over chili for lunch. I don’t often microwave my meal; and when I do I’m always reminded as to why I don’t: it never heats through evenly. The bowl is too hot; the chili has hot pockets and the rest is kind of tepid until I swirl through the few pockets of molten chili. And even then I’m usually re-microwaving it and burning my fingers on the bowl. I shake my head at myself. Why do I do this? I much prefer re-heating chili on the stove - it takes about the same amount of time as microwaving - and re-microwaving - my food, although I wind up with an extra pot to wash. One result is less desirable than the other; so why do I do it? Probably the illusion of speed and ease. In my case, a bit of sloth - no extra pot washing.As the case would have it, I’m fairly old school, so I usually don’t fall prey to this culinary transgression too often.But I think there are a lot of microwave managed folks out there - falling prey to the illusion that everything can be cooked, served and consumed in one neat package with a minimum of fuss. I see a lot of relationships falling into this category. Two grown-ups consult a virtual checklist of wants and needs and come together without doing any real initial ground work (slowly building trust and intimacy), or the constant maintenance work that is necessary for a healthy relationship. Yes, I said constant - just like stirring the pot, unless you want to wind up with a burnt out mess at the bottom.Relationships for me, as a new writer, involve a lot of sitting around and looking at a blank screen; turning the laptop off and doing a load of laundry; finishing a chore or errand - thinking. Sometimes the story also involves a lot of needed sifting and pruning, as was case with Kitchen Addiction! - I shudder to tell you the finished 300+ page paperback began its journey at almost double its bulk. So - here I sit, taking a moment to let you in on my discoveries about my writing process - while I chew and mull over a portion of the story in Confection Connection.I think you’re going to like it. Because simmering wins hands-down over microwaving, any day.

First, let me tell you where I am not right now - eBook of Kitchen Addiction! is no longer on Smashwords.com.I've become a KindleTouch user; finally discovering the world of immediate wireless downloads directly to my Kindle - wow; talk about immediate gratification...But what gave me jungle/Amazon fever was this: the Kindle version of Kitchen Addiction! that's available online now at Amazon.com, is part of their KDP Select - for a period of 90 days, if you belong to Amazon Prime, you can BORROW my book - for free.AND - on July 7th and 8th you will be able to download Kitchen Addiction! for free. Yes, that's right - for those 2 days it will be a $0.00 Kindle eBook.I'm still learning, so bear with. And of course you can download the recipe booklet, based on Kitchen Addiction! on the samples page of this site any time for free.It's taken me awhile to research and make these decisions - along with a host of daily downers (broken wrist; family stuff; pet problems; car bashes, etc.). But read on my twitter account a quote that I really took to heart; I THINK it was a Mark Twain quote; and I'm paraphrasing here -- but it went along the lines of: if a writer waits to write until she feels like writing; she'll never write.Hence; my dilemma - that's where I've been. Nose is fully out of my burrow and I'm trundling along the writer's path now...hope hear from you soon along the way.

Yes, we're still getting back to the swing of things in terms of blogging...more on that later.In the meantime, THANK YOU for your patience! Here's what's in the works so far:Just posted a FREE Kindle-friendly pdf of the recipe booklet based on Kitchen Addiction! - you can open/view as a normal pdf on your computer; or, using your Kindles USB line, upload it to the "documents" folder on your Kindle and presto! You have a brand new (and free) recipe book on your Kindle!The upside to downloading it to your computer first (other than it becomes available to your Kindle) is that you can print out the recipe you'd like to make, and not risk spilling tomato sauce on your Kindle!The pdf works well on my Kindle - so hope you have the same results - but let me know, ok?The recipe eBook will soon be available direclty from Amazon.com as a $0.00 Kindle eBook - so please stay tuned.And of course, typing away at the sequel - Confection Connection.